Ken Burns: America's Storyteller | American Sampler

Filmmaker Ken Burns's nearly four-decade career has resulted in some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made.

Courtesy of Justin Altman
/ PBS

Thur., Aug. 3 at 8pm on WKAR-HD 23.1 | Join Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, George Lucas and more for a tribute to the acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns! Watch and call or GIVE NOW.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Ken Burns’s passion for telling America’s stories is evident in his choice of subjects, from American icons (Mark Twain, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jackie Robinson, The Roosevelts) to American pastimes (baseball, jazz and the National Parks), from American landmarks (the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty) to the country’s most momentous historical events (the Civil War, the Dust Bowl, Prohibition and World War II).

Since the Academy Award nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, productions by Burns have won 15 Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations, and Burns himself has been the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Burns has been aptly described as “America’s storyteller.” Over the course of almost 40 years, he has carried on a deep and probing conversation with Americans about themselves and their country, its past and its future. Perhaps more than anyone else, he has elevated documentary filmmaking to an art form and made American history come alive.

The tribute also includes an extended interview with Burns, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of his films and providing fascinating insights into his thought process, philosophy and creative methods. Filled with clips, photographs, outtakes and “making of” footage, KEN BURNS: AMERICA’S STORYTELLER will remind viewers once again of the originality and craft behind the “Ken Burns effect.”